Monday, September 12, 2005

Constant Communication

One of the most mysterious things about our relationship with God is the power of prayer. The fact that the Creator of everything is waiting to be in communication with us at any time, anywhere, is absolutely amazing! Sadly, many Christians are not practicing constant communication with God!

One of my favorite characters in the Bible is my man Nehemiah. The whole book of Nehemiah lists many occasions where He called upon God to help him in the situations that he was in. In the beginning of the book, Nehemiah's brother Hanani, and some other men who had just arrived from Judah, told him that those who had returned there from captivity were not doing so well and that the wall of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates had been destroyed (Nehemiah 1:2 NLV). For days, Nehemiah wept and fasted and prayed to God (Nehemiah 1:5-11 NLV).

By the end of his prayer in verses 5-11, Nehemiah had decided to go to the King to ask him a "great favor". Nehemiah was King Artaxerxes' cup bearer; his duty was to ensure the safety and quality of the king's food and drink, which gave him great access to the King. In Nehemiah 2:2-4 NLV, we read of one day when he was serving the king some wine, and the king asked him why he looked so sad. Nehemiah became terrified, but told the king about the situation in Jerusalem. When the king asked him how he could help him, Nehemiah did what we all should do as Christians in times of need-he prayed.

That's right! Nehemiah spontaneously prayed to God! He knew that he could not accomplish his goal without God's help, so he did what he knew would work: prayer. Nehemiah 2:5-9 NLV tells us that after Nehemiah's prayer to God and talking with the king, King Artaxerxes not only allowed Nehemiah to go back to Jerusalem, but he gave him letters to the governors of the places he would be traveling through for protection, a letter to the manager of the king's forest asking him to give him wood to construct the gates, and military escort!

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and in just fifty-two days, the wall was finished (Nehemiah 6:15 NLV)! Throughout the book of Nehemiah, there are many trials that Nehemiah encountered; but, through prayer and the strength that only God can provide, he accomplished all that God had told him to do.

It's sad, but a lot of people don't completely understand the importance and power of prayer! There is no burden too small, or too large to be brought to God, yet many times we don't even bother to bring them to Him. We all can learn a lot from Nehemiah and we all need to strive to have the same attitude as he did towards prayer.

Are you in constant communication with God? Do you often wonder if God is even there? Take refuge in His unfailing love and realize that God is there. Constantly be in prayer with Him, even during random times, just as Nehemiah did. For the power of prayer through Christ causes the enemies of God to cringe (Psalms 66:3 NLV), and He will grant us justice(Luke 18:1-8 NLV).